Recap: Syracuse Shuts Out Liberty, 24-0

Saturday, August 31

Lynchburg, VA

6 PM

Syracuse University

1-0

Liberty

0-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Syracuse

Liberty

8/31/2019 10:00:00 PM | Football

Box Score Highlights Photo Gallery Dino Babers Press Conference Tommy DeVito Press Conference Kendall Coleman Press Conference Postgame Notes Quotes

LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Syracuse defense accumulated eight quarterback sacks and held Liberty (0-1) to minus-4 rushing yards while pitching a shutout, as the No. 22 Orange (1-0) opened their 2019 campaign with a 24-0 blanking of the Flames on Saturday, Aug. 31 at Williams Stadium.

Redshirt junior Abdul Adams, sophomore Jarveon Howard and senior Moe Neal each scored rushing touchdowns for the Orange.

It was Syracuse's first away-game shutout since the Orange won at Tulane (24-0) on Sept. 28, 1991. Syracuse also had a neutral-site blanking on Aug. 24, 1997, beating Wisconsin 34-0 in the Meadowlands.

QUOTABLE
"Do you know hard it is to get a shutout? That's big. If you look at the last five or seven minutes of the game, the ones weren't out there." head coach Dino Babers said. "Those were the twos and the threes battling for that shutout. So to get that shutout, that is a great job."

ORANGE GET ON THE BOARD
Redshirt sophomore kicker Andre Szmyt tallied Syracuse's first points of the 2019 season when he converted a 45-yard field goal with less than two minutes remaining the opening quarter. The kick was set up by classmate Ifeatu Melifonwu's first career interception.

LONG MARCH RESULTS IN FIRST TD
The Orange put together a 14-play, 71-yard scoring drive early in the second quarter which resulted in an Adams touchdown. He powered in from two yards out and Szmyt's extra point put the Orange up 10-0 with 10:33 to go in the opening half.

The drive got off to a great start when redshirt sophomore quarterback Tommy DeVito connected with sophomore receiver Taj Harris on a 31-yard pass on first down. Later in the series, DeVito overcame a Liberty blitz and found senior running back Moe Neal for a 14-yard gain that helped get Syracuse in position.

A CISCO THEFT LEADS TO MORE POINTS
Sophomore safety Andre Cisco picked off a Stephen Calvert pass in the third quarter, setting up the Orange at the Liberty 37-yard line. Five plays later, Howard plunged into the end zone from the 1-yard line. Another Szmyt point after gave Syracuse a 17-0 margin.

Cisco, who finished the game with six tackles, picked up right where he left off last season. The preseason All-American, tied for the FBS lead in interceptions a season ago as a freshman with seven.

FLAMES UNDER PRESSURE
Coordinator Brian Ward's defense racked up eight sacks for 51 yards worth of losses. It represented the team's highest one-game total since equally the program record with nine against Rutgers in 2009.

Senior Kendall Coleman and redshirt junior Josh Black contributed two sacks apiece. Seniors Lakiem Williams (1.5), Evan Foster (1.0), Alton Robinson (0.5), junior Kingsley Jonathan (0.5) and redshirt sophomore Curtis Harper (0.5) got in on the action as well.

PUTTING OUT THE FLAME GROUND GAME
Syracuse held Liberty to minus-4 yards in 34 rushing attempts. The most recent occasion in which the Orange kept a team to negative yards rushing was in 2012. Syracuse limited Connecticut to minus-6 yards that season.

Liberty's longest rushing play was a 12-yard gain by Peytton Pickett.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

The third SU touchdown came from Neal on a 42-yard scamper up the middle in the fourth quarter.
Neal finished with 143 yards from scrimmage, including a game-high 89 yards rushing on 14 carries.
DeVito completed 17-of-35 passes for 176 yards and two interceptions in his first game as a starter.
Lakiem Williams led the Orange defenders with 11 total tackles.
Syracuse extended its streak of forcing a turnover to 15 games when Trill Williams caused a Liberty fumble in the first quarter. Overall, the Orange defense registered four takeaways.
Redshirt senior punter Sterling Hofrichter punted six times for an average of 49.2 yards per kick. He placed four of his six boots inside the Liberty 20-yard line.

CROWDED HOUSE
The announced attendance of 21,679 at Williams Stadium was the third-largest on record at Liberty. The standard of 22,551 was set on Sept. 19, 2015 when the Flames hosted Montana.

UP NEXT
Syracuse travels to College Park to play Maryland on Saturday, Sept. 7. Kickoff against the Terps is scheduled for noon on either ESPN or ESPN2. The television assignment will be determined after the Week 1 slate of games.

Following the Maryland game, Syracuse returns to the Dome to open its home schedule against reigning national champion Clemson on Saturday, Sept. 14. Season and single-game tickets are on sale now online (Cuse.com/tickets), by phone (888-DOME-TIX) or in person at the Dome Box Office located in the Ensley Athletic Center. Season tickets start at $125.

Syracuse's single-game ticket allotment for the Clemson game is sold out. The only way to guarantee a seat to watch the Orange and Tigers is through the purchase of a season ticket.

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